In the Garden of Frozen Blooms
by sirensoundwave
Summary: The interesting adventures of the Burgess 7 during and after the completion of their supernatural metamorphosis. The little things left out of Winter's Dark Angel or weren't enough of to make a standalone sequel with. Or the one in which most of Burgess, PA suffers from Sunnydale Syndrome. More characters involved than list allows
1. Part I

First up, Claude and Caleb establish they would probably make Pitch either proud of or avoid them at all costs.

Archive tags from AO3

Rating:Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Author Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category:Other

Fandom: Rise of the Guardians (2012)

Relationship:Jack Frost/Burgess 7

Characters:

Jack Frost (Rise of the Guardians),E. Aster Bunnymund,Nicholas St. North,Toothiana,Sanderson Mansnoozie,Pitch Black (Rise Of The Guardians),Burgess 7,Seraphina Pitchiner|Mother Nature,Spring OC,Summer OC,Fall OC,The Man in the Moon (Rise of the Guardians),Assorted OCs that exist mainly for the purpose of causing them mental scarring...

Additional Tags:

Child Death,Assisted Suicide,dark side of childhood,Touch-Starved,Child Abuses,slightly Dark!Jack,Family of Choice,family bonds,Disturbing Fluff,not really sure how to classify these relationships,Other Additional Tags to Be Added,bashing with a purpose,Dark Humor,general creepiness...,slightlyDark!Burgess 7

*gfb*

"Well, this escalated quickly." Caleb stated casually.

"Yep." Claude dug in his left ear with his pinkie, popping the p. "Well quicker than we thought."

Backpacks were flying, kids were screaming like banshees and bouncing around like crazy. At some point, one of the stage lighting rigs had fallen down. Or been pulled down if the rather tipsy looking AV club members dangling from the ropes were any indication.

Teachers tried with little luck to calm the raucous group down. One woman had already been hurled out into the hall when she attempted to separate two groups intent on brawling super smash brothers style.

The Whitmore twins were passively watching an entire auditorium of students going the hell off. And trying to decide what to do about it.

If anything...

...leaning more towards nothing...

"You two! This is your doing, I just know it!" Principal Logan marched up to the pair on stage. The only teens not going ape shit.

"Exactly how did you reach that conclusion sir?" Claude feigned innocence while setting down his guitar. That no one would buy.

"We were just minding our own business when this started." Caleb put on his own faux angel face from behind the drumset.

"Stop that. The two of you are always causing trouble. Strangeness follows you like a lost puppy." He blotted his drenched forehead. The poor man's thin face was nearly as red as his hair. "You were the ones singing that god awful song!"

"What could that possibly have to do with kids swinging from the ceiling and screaming like demons?" They spoke in tandem, repeating a line from said song. Those sweet smiles morphed into ones that chilled the man to the bone. "Certainly nothing you could prove."

"S-see here-" Principal Logan swallowed thickly. He suddenly felt like he may not be the one with much authority in this situation.

"Fire." Both boys pointed to the left. Where the stage curtains were smoking. Another faculty member was stomping on the draperies but it seemed to only agitate the budding flames. Their tone carried such apathy for the potentially lethal development it was alarming.

"Great Scott!"

With that, the older man ran full stop to the fire extinguisher nearby. Emptying the contents in the curtain as well as the guidance counselor's singed khakis. To think this started as a talent show!

*gfb*

Of all the Burgess 7, Caleb and Claude had earned a reputation as inheritors of Jack's more devious (borderline fucking evil) side. The two of them were known to play pranks with a bit more than harmless fun in mind. Icing the middle of a sidewalk for an unsuspecting pedestrian to at worst bruise their butt? No. Try icing the middle step on a flight of stairs so a jerk ends up in traction. Touching car hoods to freeze OIL and GAS lines knowing full well the driver had a deadline or an appointment they can't miss.

But even that pales in comparison to their sense of humor. The two were fans of "wait for it..." set ups that generally did not end well for the person observed. To the point that it alarmed the Guardians. When confronting Jack about it, they really should not have been surprised by his response.

"They're just having fun."

"By really hurting people! The things they do Jack aren't minor pranks someone could laugh about later. They put people in the hospital! They scared a man so bad he had a stroke!" Tooth exclaimed.

"Look, we get that we ain't gonna see 100% eye to eye with what ya and the anklebitters do. Fine. But come on, this is reckless!" Bunny huffed. "At this rate, they're gonna kill somebody."

"What makes you think they haven't already?" Jack tilted his head, so seemingly sincere in his query that the big four were unsure if he really was.

Or just trolling the shit out of them.

Sandy shivered right along with his teammates. Even as the most understanding and level headed of the group, he was stilled disturbed by the implications of either possibility.

*gfb*

Not long after that unnerving get together, his wicked little frost flowers demonstrated their viciousness yet again. The twins caught kid picking on Monty one day.

"Watch it freak. Don't walk where the cool kids walk." Thomas Cryer sneered down at 13 year old Monty who was sprawled on the floor. The much larger boy had pretty much body checked the blonde rushing to class with a model of the Sphinx in his arms. At no point was he anywhere near Cryer's personal space before the little asswipe crossed the hall way and forced him into a row of lockers. 2 other kids with him laughed at their leader's stunt as the group walked away. Because of course egotistical bastards learn to amass an entourage at an early age.

It should come as no suprise that the carefully constructed project did not hold up to being thrown against metal then landing on tile. The clay model shattered like a china plate.

"Oh no!" He bemoaned.

"Monty you okay?" Caleb ran over to help his brother up.

"Yeah, but the Sphinx isn't. Now what do I do? I was already late turning this in. It's a F for sure now."

"Mrs. Hawkins is kinda a hard ass but I'm sure she'll understand." Claude offered. While his twin checked they're little bro over, he carefully gathered the bits of the assignment from the floor.

"Right. She's gonna believe her precious godson is a school bully. She went off the last grown adult who tried to make that freaking boss! I'm screwed."

"Hmm."

Monty got a failing grade on his Egypt assignment. He was upset but not nearly as upset as the twins.

The next day, Cryer and the Cronies were smoking in the bathroom as usual. It was an out of the way restroom in the basement few students had time to reach between classes. Built back in the in the olden days when classes actually happened down there. Before anyone realized mold spores and what not were terrible for the health of developing lungs. It was all but condemned, though the water and electricity were never acually turned off.

"You assholes have some nerve doing that to Monty." Two voices said angrily.

Standing in the doorway were the Whitmore twins. Glaring menacingly at the trio.

"Oh look! The Wonder Twins! Behold their awesome power to talk at the same time!" Cryer mock swooned. "Gonna tell on us? Beat it shortstacks."

"Yeah, this bathroom's for the big leagues." Cronie #1 scoffed.

"Not the peewees." Cronie #2 chimed.

"Wow. That was fucking LAME." Tandem deadpan.

As if they were living in a bad horror movie, the florescent bulbs overhead became strobe lights for ten seconds then cut out entirely. The bullies shrieked in fright seeing the four eerie points of violet light at eye level to where the kids they'd been poking fun at were standing.

A muffled BOOM shook Burgess Middle School shortly after A rotation lunch. Windows rattled, objects fell from their places on shelves and desks. People panicked thinking it was anything from another east coast earthquake to some kind of attack. After everyone freaked and ran screaming out the doors, first responders investigated the smoke coming from the lowest level.

The official explanation went as follows. Methane from the recently unused but improperly maintained sewer pipes leaked into the enclosed space. Being a flammable gas, it was ignited when one one the boys lit his cigarette that day. Resulting in a flash explosion that basically demolished the out of order restroom and broke quite a few bones in all three boys and ruptured the eardrums of one as fallout from the concussive wave. To add to the destruction, a white RAV4 in the back lot had all its windows blown out filled with human waste. How unfortunate for the elderly world history teacher. So youthfully stupid rebellion plus adults dropping the ball equaled one week school break to assess the building's structural integrity. Simple right?

If we ignored the fact that said boys were found screaming their heads off about freaks with white hair and blazing purple eyes.

Oh, and frozen to the floor by gallons of raw sewage.

That part never made it into any written report.

*gfb*

Was that a Nickelback reference? Yes, yes it was. Remember Pippa singing in Winter's Dark Angel? Same deal, just with instruments. Monty is also the only one of the 7 who chose not to remember that he dies at 16. The twins feel rather protective of him for this reason.

Whaddya think? Love it? Hate it? General indifference? Reviews are like hugs. Sirensoundwave out.


	2. Part 2

They'd kissed and made up as it were but some things about Jack still disturb the Guardians. The revelation of his true nature unnerves them. It just can't be helped. That distrust is still there, his behavior is still creepy. Especially when their adult minds can't tell if he sincerely doesn't understand...or is just screwing with them.

This happens about a year before WDA ends. No one's dead yet but the Burgess 7 are pretty much just elemental spirits trapped in faulty human shells.

Oh! For another neat chaptered story that includes some darker aspects of the Guardian of Fun, check out " Attack of Winter and Summer" by Cat Girl 1995 on ffnet (I post to both ffnet and AO3).

Here we go.

*ITGFB*

Aster would always be wary of Jack. He'd seen the boy kill a child for Pete's sake. Knew he'd murdered hundreds.

/It's not murder when they want to be released./ His conscience whispered.

Release. That's what Jack had called it. When a child calls out to him, his eyes become white and he is summoned to give them release from their mortal bodies.

By freezing them to death.

Now he would be getting helpers in the form of the Burgess believers. According to Manny, they were his...compensation for being left alone and an amnesiac for about four centuries. He was slowly making those poor kids like him. No matter how their leader tried to sugar coat it, The Man in the Moon obviously had no problem sacrificing seven innocent children with bright futures just to cater to Jack's perversions.

The way he looked at them. Talked to and of them. Touched them was sick. That cock and bull story he spun about that night with Sophie didn't fool him for a second. He might not have been depraved enough to have sex with a five year old...but he certainly enjoyed touching her bare skin. Kissing her like that was not necessary to do that ritual either. In fact, their mouths only needed to be open and close but not touching.

Spring spirits did that all the time especially during...mating.

What about the older children? Their bodies were stunted as well but still more mature than the youngest Bennett. Pippa especially looked closer to her actual age than the other having already been a tall girl. The times he has seen her without her charm, she looked like a snow angel.

With the thought of the winter spirit looming over the poor girl with that wicked gleam in his eyes, a scream of pure frustration echoed through the halls of the workshop.

"Bunny is racket necessary? Trying to get work done." North huffed poking his head out of his office.

Sighing, the pooka walked into the room and flopped bonelessly into a chair. By then, North had gone back to carving the finer details in a block of ice. Bunny couldn't tell what exactly but he could see the man switching the lenses on his desk mounted magnifying glasses as he worked.

"North, I know we told Jack that we would keep an open mind about him. But the more I think about it, the more uncomfortable I am about it. Especially the things the gumby's out right lying about."

"What has he lied about?"

"The whole thing about marking them for one. In Sophie's room, he had her in his lap. Tongue kissing her. To do a binding, you need to be close but not that close mate. I can't shake the feeling that he gets off on the things he does to those kids.

"Bunny, you don't think-"

"I don't want to but dammit North that kid has some tendencies that are not normal. I don't want to think this way but no one told me bloody brain that!"

"Jack is...strange. Different yes? But he is still child. He jokes. Sometimes jokes are harsh. Seem cruel." The Spirit of Wonder set aside his project to face his friend. "Children keep secrets. We have ours no?"

"Yeah. But you and I both know sometimes, some children don't need protection from things that go bump in the night." Two great paws covered the pooka's face as he hung his head. "Cuz they ARE monsters."

*ITGFB*

Sophie was lying on the sofa sweating profusely. Her body was overheating due to a case of the flu. The 9 year old had taken her crystal off hoping for a bit more relief. It didn't help much.

"Jack..." she whimpered. In an instant, he was leaning over her. Her stress level was off the charts. Snowy locks drenched in sweat clinging to her pale skin. Her flowery pajamas soaking wet.

"Geez are you hot." The winter guardian put a hand to her forehead. Working around to the side above her head, he perched on the sofa arm.

"I feel bad." She groaned clinging to him instantly. "Mama went to get some medicine. Make me better."

"I can't heal this Soph." He sighed.

"Pwease?"

*ITGFB*

Anita felt terrible. Her illness wasn't to blame this time though. Sophie had caught a bad case of the flu, despite having had the vaccination. Jamie had offered to stay home and help nurse his sister but his mother insisted that was her job. Unfortunately, she underestimated their stock of cold and flu meds. Thinking the drive to and from the drugstore would take 20 minutes tops, she laid the sick girl out on the sofa with ice cold Pedialyte and a popsicle promising to be right back.

So, Murphy's Law just had to rear it's head. Half the town was infected and the wait was far longer than she expected. By the time she got to the counter, an hour had passed and Mr. Gladwell was down to his last few cases of over the counter medicines.

On the drive home, she cursed herself for insisting the kids allow her the illusion of a regular family that wasn't about to be separated by death in little over a year. If Jamie were home, she would feel better about the long stretch of time away from her ailing child.

"Sophie, baby I'm so sorry it took so long. I know how much you hate grape but that's the only flavor the pharmacy had left-" She walked into her living room and dropped the bags she had been carrying upon entry.

It was...strange when she first met him. The mysterious friend that was responsible for the odd changes in her children. Normal, living people don't have skin that pallor. And no amount of bleach produced that shade of white hair. Then again normal people can't freeze things solid with a touch.

But this. This was too much. The sight had rendered her speechless.

Her daughter, looking just like him, was curled up in his lap. Face pressed into his chest. His arms wrapped around her, both sound asleep. That's not the part that startled her.

Sophia Cynthia Bennett was in her underwear. Wet sleeping attire discarded in a pile on the floor. The cushion to their right sported a child sized damp spot. Draped over the back of the sofa was Jack's hoodie. Her daughter was practically naked in the lap of a bare chested teenaged(?) boy.

"Mm? Hey." Jack yawned then blinked. "Uh, you okay?"

"What are you doing?!"

"Chill out. She got so hot she almost passed out." He stretched a little, careful not to jar the girl too much. " I turned down the furnace too. Winter sprites aren't fond of hot areas to begin with but she's sick on top of it. I've had more practice controlling my core temperature and I knew skin to skin contact to be the fastest way to cool her down. I did the same thing for Cupcake and Monty last week. The twins the week before. Pippa and Jamie seem to be the best at resisting fevers and not overheating in general. So far."

"Um, well..." Anita gulped, well aware that her face was bright red by now.

"I realize this is kinda strange to you but I haven't done and have no plans to do anything to her, Jamie or the others. Despite how we're generally portrayed as cold and unfeeling, winter spirits enjoy the touch of our peers mainly because we tend to spend so much time alone. Makes us feel comfortable, safe. It's just the way we are ma'am."

That explanation seemed to satisfy her as she picked up the bags and headed for the kitchen. Still, she couldn't help looking over her shoulder. Watching him lay her face down on the dry cushions.

And trailing a single long finger down the base of her neck to the small of her back.

*ITGFB*

Yep, still doing it but now giving more insight into both why he does it and how others perceive his quirks resulting from the obsession with his frost flowers.

Love it? Hate it? General indifference? Reviews are like hugs! Sirensoundwave out.


	3. Part 3

Second chapter in two days!

This chapter focuses mainly on Monty. We get a glimpse of his home life and the reason his father was not present at his funeral. And just how badly he sucks at using his powers. At the end, others demonstrate their abilities too.

*ITFOFB*

"Just stay calm son. This'll be over soon." Blared from a megaphone.

Well, this sucks.

Monty's day started out pretty good. The type to actually enjoy school, the first day of high school was something he looked forward to all summer. That and at his current stage of the change, temps above 65°F were murder. His mom made his favorite pumpkin pancakes for luck, just like every year before. Jake promised to take him hiking once the leaves turned colors so they could enjoy all the awesome hues along the trails.

He'd even gotten an early birthday card from his estranged father with a fifty inside. Which sorta made up for the fact that the man probably forgot exactly when his youngest from his first marriage was born. Jake had it worse. Jacob Sr had sent him a blank check to buy his first car several years ago. The attached letter wished him happy birthday, congratulated him on passing his driving test and only asked he not buy something super fast that would kill his mother on insurance.

Jacob Jr. who was graduating high school at the time went ballistic. Not only had he gotten his license two years before, Mrs. Felder (the divorce was bitter enough that she retained his name to screw with him financially...hell hath no fury but Monty pretended not to know that) helped him purchase a used car the year after. Oh and the birthday check came in June. His big brother was born in freaking March. That it was only the second contact the man had had with his eldest since the divorce made it so much worse.

That aside, he left for school feeling pretty good. Peddling on his merry way, Monty took in the sights.

"Felder!" Roared from behind him.

"Fuck."

"You got me a summer in juvie you little shit stain!"

It wasn't his fault Cryer was an idiot. Deciding he wouldn't get looked at so hard due to his condition during recovery from the bathroom explosion, he tried to boost several hundred dollars in electronics from a store by hiding it in his wheelchair.

There was ever so much wrong with his logic.

First, small town numb nuts. In which you're already a known petty thief. If a store sells security cameras, they probably have plenty actually installed and running. It's 2015, not 1915.

Second, handicapped does not equal invisibility. In fact, it makes store clerks more likely to look at you for the simple fact that you might need help while shopping. Ever heard of customer service?

Third, this was Monty's fault how exactly? He was there to return a defective DVD player. That's it. Didn't see him open the boxes. He didn't see him stuff two Galaxy Megas in his pants. Or sit on an iPad Mini 2. Once cops who talked to him all of five minutes in store realized he wasn't a witness but store surveillance was, the blond was ignored.

But no, the bully assumed somehow that he squealed. By the time he'd been sentenced, Cryer had lost the chair and was able to move around just fine. Another injustice, a summer locked up.

For fuck's sake!

The Bionic bully came tearing down the street on his brand new motor bike intent on causing the teen bodily harm. Given Monty's top speed was somewhere well below 35 MPH, he was gaining fast. In a panic, the smaller teen ducked through as many alleyways and backyards as he could. Naturally, he eventually reach a dead end.

Skidding to a stop in the rec center lot, Monty freaked out. On one side was the property fence. The other a brick building. The third side a walled off area where new construction was taking place. Directly behind him a felon in the making.

"Nowhere to run. Take your beatin like a man Felder!"

/HELP!/

/Dude, why are you screaming? School hasn't even started yet and my head already hurts./ Jamie demanded through the link.

/Wait, that's today?!/ The sleepy voices the twins cried. /Why are you panting like a dog?!/

/Cryer's gonna rearrange my face!/

"God, where are you?!" Jamie panicked out loud alarming his fellow bus riders and the driver.

/On Jeffers. The community center. I dropped my cell and I can't run forever! Hurry!/

/9. That's nowhere near any of us! 1. How long has that dick been chasing you?! 1./ Cupcake had a habit of repeating numbers in her head as she dialed them. Knowing this guy, parents would be useless until after the police arrived. She nearly knocked her mom down as she tore out the door to the bus stop.

/A...While...Can't...Keep...This-GAH!/

/Monty?/

/Dude? What happened?!/

/Say something!/

/Monny? Answer us!/ Sophie started to cry on her porch. Immediately she dashed back inside.

"Daddy turn here!" Pippa yelped suddenly.

"Sweety I'm already late since you missed the bus. This is the shortest-" Mr. Jaeger began to roll his eyes.

"Here. Now."

The man found himself unable to do anything but comply. After all, Pippa had thrown as much of her siren influence into those two words as she could. The Buick whipped a u turn on a dime to the chagrin of fellow motorists. The winter spite to be tuned it all out. Her brother was in danger.

*ITGOFB*

It wasn't odd to occasionally have to send a unit to see about stupid kids playing around areas they should leave alone in Burgess. People made less than bright decisions all the time and their town was no different.

But Tuesday September 8, 2015 was officially the strangest in Sheila Turret's 10 years at the BCFD. The scene that greeted her on that lot was...um...

Dispatch had received no less than 5 frantic phone calls about a situation near the Kepler building. All from children; one call coming from a landline and the rest from cellulars. Though one of the tower numbers had two boys yelling on the line.

In any case, Turret drove station 2's engine to the location. Already on scene were 3 squad cars, an EMT unit and several rubber neckers including a school bus full of high school kids. Everybody looking up.

Dangling like a ragdoll from the flag pole out front was a small boy. It was hard to tell but his jacket seemed to be caught in the pulley. She thought he was unusually calm until she noticed he was probably unconscious if the limp swaying in the breeze was an indicator.

At the base, another, older boy was fighting to free his shirt from the lower pulley wheels. Him she recognized as not so little Tommy Cryer, her next door neighbor. What did he do now?!

Her thoughts were cut out by the sound of a terrified child coming to and screaming his head off from 30 ft up.

How it looked: Bully beats up weaker child and hoists him up the pole but gets himself stuck as well.

What actually happened: Only Cryer could say for sure and his word carried oh so much weight. According to him, he was just talking to the kid when the wind picked up and threw them both at the pole. somehow his elbow hit Felder's face. When it was over, Felder was sky high and he was stuck.

So the wind helped give the blond a shiner, knocking him out and then decided to whisk him up there. Right. Whatever. If you're gonna lie, do it with some plausibility kid.

Once a cherry picker got him down, Felder was swarmed by his friends. His six, unique, friends. Most had come from the crowd near the bus. This included twins who looked to have gotten dressed in a rush. One had bolted out of a stylish luxury car. The last and youngest seemed to just appear from behind a cop car.

The instant she saw the girl, Shelia's mind rewinded to a conversation she had three months prior.

"Well, how was your first official year as a school marm Ro?"

Sitting in the Perky Percolator, the Turret sisters were catching up. Between their respective careers, they saw so little of one another this was a rare thing. Sure there had been phone calls but face time was important too.

"Marm? Who says that anymore? Actually I...no it's silly." Rochelle waved it off.

"What?"

"Well, kids talk about all sorts of crazy things. But this whole Burgess 7 rumor isn't so easy to ignore."

"Oh, that noise. Seven special kids, something about Jack Frost, yada yada yada. Please." Sheila chuckled into her espresso.

"It's just that Sophia Bennett, the youngest one was in my class. The school is keeping the same teachers with their students from year 3 thru 5. I asked her if she was looking forward to next year. She said it wouldn't be the same without me. When I asked if she wasn't coming back to Burgess Elementary, she just looked at me. Then with a sad smile, she said 'I'll be back, but you and Felix won't.' Isn't that strange?"

"Yeah. Maybe she thought you were moving. You did talk about Abhay's deployment from a base in Florida." She big sister shrugged.

"Maybe. Oh!" Her latte spilled a bit as she clutched her stomach. "In other news, your nephew is gonna be scoring goals of some kind with this kick he's got."

"Felix Adjit Ranadeva, the Soccer Champ. I like it. Come on, you'll miss your flight if we keep jibber jabbering."

"An hour's drive is plenty of time to catch up I guess. Won't daddy be surprised to see us when he docks?" She whispered to her belly. With an awkward shimmy, Rochelle slid out of her booth seat while her sister paid the tab.

Leaving a tip for their server Pynnie, the two left. Nothing odd or memorable about it. Unless you knew that was the last time Rochelle Turret-Ranadeva would ever set foot in her hometown.

Flight 342 crashed halfway to Orlando due to a stalled engine. No survivors.

*I'll be back, but you and Felix won't.*

Was it possible Sophia or Sophie knew? How? That's just too out there.

Right?

Given how the six of them all somehow knew one of theirs was in danger maybe...

No. That would be crazy. Shoving her thoughts aside, she began preparing the log for this interesting incident.

*ITGOFB*

Yes, I am into naming characters something meaningful when I have the chance.

Ranadeva - Traveler; real Hindu surname/male first name

Abhay- Fearless; real Hindu male name

Adjit- invicible; real Hindu male name

Felix- Luck; yeilding the ironic name meaning Lucky Invincible Traveler. His father's being Fearless Traveler.

So there we go. Remember, they all have more or less the same abilities but some are better able to control different ones. So far we know the following:

Jamie- temperature control, ice manipulation

Sophie- precognition related to death, telepathy (maintaining it without hindering her while doing other things)

Pippa- siren ability (voice), temperature control, precognition related to death

Cupcake- ice manipulation, precognition related to death

Claude and Caleb- Ice manipulation, siren ability (channeled through instruments)

Monty- the only one able to fly/control the wind while aliqve

Reviews are like hugs. Sirensoundwave out!


	4. Part 4

New York, New York...

Cupcake gets sent to live with her aunt for the summer after her father's 'accident'. Her aunt in glamorous Soho, New York . The reason? 'To straighten her out about all this goth nonsense and make her a proper lady' but really because her mother can't deal with taking care of two people. A frost spirit in the concrete jungle during a heat wave?

This has to be a cruel joke.

Fair warning, this chapter goes back to the dark tone of the previous story.

Enjoy.

*ITGOFB*

So...freaking...hot...

Cupcake groaned to herself in the back of the cab. The driver kept staring at her in the rearview when he thought she wasn't paying attention. Old enough to be her dad, this guy was totally perving on her. A 14 year old who looked like she was 10, alone on a car with a man she didn't know over 600 miles from her home.

A man unusually fair, blonde and grey eyed to be named Abdullah Namas.

Eh.

The seven of them had had about 5 years of training so far with their magic from Jack of course but also Mama, Father and, of all people, Sandy. The dream spirit's mental affinity proved an excellent teaching tool in regards to their psychic powers.

But, they obviously experimented on their own without supervision. And during a few of those sessions, they made some discoveries about how unique they each were.

For one, Monty was the least adept at getting his gifts to work on demand but the only one who could actually fly, not just levitate a few inches. He could often be found on roofs at night or scaring his brother by just appearing at ridiculously high points along a trail.

Claude and Caleb were far more in sync than the normal twin thing; it was hard for outsiders to tell where one ended and the other began. Especially with talking at the same time. Oftentimes using their abilities together without actually thinking about it.

Jamie's charm did squat to hide the signs of his change, only capping his powers the same way it did for all of them. But without it, his magic outclassed the other six. He could also plunge temperatures into the negative digits without leaving an ice trail-literally causing things to get so cold, they just shatter.

Sophie had this...shriek. Not some supersonic pulse or anything nearly as destructive. As cool as that would be. No, it pretty much short-circuited the brain. People dropped like dolls and couldn't move for hours at a time. Father said that scream disrupts the connection between body and soul causing confusion and eradicating motor function. Sandy compared it to that instant when you wake up but can't move, just over a way longer period. So naturally it didn't affect them since that connection was already nonexistent.

Pippa had the strongest siren voice. Powerful enough to affect the living, something the twins could only do with music and Jaime did only once. Her screaming COULD break glass and cause cracks in brick though using it at that magnitude was draining.

Then there was her. Her greatest strength and weakness happened to be her emotions. What'd that mean?

Well, at present, just because her father was injured, she got shipped to one of the hottest places on earth. Because he mother couldn't take care of her too? Really? The woman hadn't done so in years anyway!

In fact, what 8 year old has to drag her mom into bed after she passes out on the stairs? What 9 year-old dresses, shops and cooks for herself since mommy and daddy can't be bothered? How fair is it to be called a mistake every day of your-

"Jesus Freddy, how much freon did you put in?!" The driver shouted. Cupcake was startled from her musing to see the man shivering behind the wheel. Puffs of white vapor escaping his mouth having nothing to do with smoking. "You alright back there mamasita?"

"Oh...um..." Looking down, she noticed her hot pink and black platform mary janes were dusted with frost. So was the floorboard. Ice crystals were creeping across the back seat, onto the door she leaned against and up the window.

/Honestly!/

"It's a bit chilly but I'm okay sir." /Relax. Think about something calm.../

Her powers were most affected by her mood. Especially the more destructive attributes. What called out to her big brother that night wasn't just her psychic scream. It was also the burst of winter magic that encased the whole living room in three inches of ice and rendered her parents unconscious for a few seconds.

The whole thing started when her father snatched her back for walking away from him 'and being sassy about it' . Somehow her charm came off in the struggle. The instant she changed, he started calling her a demon child and hitting her like he was fighting a grown man. All she could think about was trying to keep her powers in check. As much as she hated her father and disliked her mother, she didn't want them dead. Not literally.

At some point, she knew her leg snapped like a twig. Her face a bloody mess. This time she could get justice the legal way, there was no chance he could cover up the injuries he was inflicting this time. No lie he could spin. All she had to do was survive the attack. Just like every other time.

Unfortunately, they both reached the same conclusion. While Cupcake slipped into a meditative state to drown everything out, Mr. DeMarco began to panic. Once the rage subsided, he looked down at his daughter or what everyone believed to be his daughter heavily wounded on the floor. How was he gonna fix this?!

The solution shocked Cupcake back to reality. To her horror, the golden handle of a letter opener protruded from her stomach. A second later, it was torn out and plunged into another spot. Again and again.

Of all the ways a power couple could have solved their unplanned child problem, they chose indifference, abuse...now murder?

No.

HELL no.

She has seen her death and this was NOT it. She passes away quietly in two years once her heart can no longer take the strain. A tired body simply shutting down. But...Richie DeMarco lives a long life. His neck bore no black band, fate's mark of imminent death.

Though she didn't have the presence of mind to recall these facts. Sheer panic overtook her. Whispering that just this once... she should fight back. All the anger, hurt and desperation snowballed from the past 14 years surged to the surface.

She awoke to the sound of her father wailing in agony. Bones crunching and twisting. A wet thud made by a bleeding body hitting the ground.

Crimson splattered all over the room. She rolled to the side, shocked to find no wounds, not even any pain. As she stood, she saw big brother bathed in red looming over the mangled body of a man. One frantically trying to escape a murderous phantom invisible to his eyes.

The rest is history as they say.

Cupcake's a big girl now though. She could take care of herself. The city scape outside the taxi looked nothing like the upscale neighborhood Auntie Rita lived in. Her attempt to unlock the door was met with an empty click from the button.

"I don't think this is the right way sir." The girl frowned, waiting to meet his gaze in the mirror.

"Don't you worry mamasita. This old gal's acting up a bit, just gonna pull into dispatch and swap 'er out." He chuckled, not even looking back as he slipped into an alley.

"Did you use that same lame ass excuse on Mina?"

SCREEECH!

"What?"

"Your dumb but not deaf. Did you promise to take Mina home from the airport too and use the same lie to bring her here?"

"I don't know how you know but you definitely ain't goin nowhere now." 'Abdullah' growled.

"She looked a lot like me. Lolita goth just older. Well older than I seem anyhow. As for how I know, she's screaming for me to get away right beside my door. Mmm but she needn't worry. The one who should be running is you. Nice choker by the way."

A few minutes passed before the rear passenger door opened. With a soft squish, Cupcake's feet touched the alley floor. The engine still idling when she walked away. Leaving bloody prints in her wake. She offered a sweet smile to the girl's ghost as she faded away into blue sparkles.

"Geez is it hot." Violet eyes slowly faded back to brown once she opened her parasol. With little effort, she took her suitcase from the trunk and set off towards the main street. True to stereotyping, not a soul bat an eyelash at the tiny, strangely dress child wandering around the lower east side. Black and long sleeves in summer? Pfft, whatever.

As far as she was concerned, that'd be fine.

It would give the spears of frozen water jutting from "Mr. Namas' " head and pinning his body to the seat enough time to melt in the heat before anyone noticed the corpse.

"Taxi!"

*ITGOFB*

Well, that got real dark, real fast. Go Cupcake, the Avenging Angel! n_n

The powers outlined gave a little insight into upcoming chapters. Some are new, but most were hinted at before in this and in WDA.

The 'choker' referred to the black band around the neck appearing as a sign someone is close to death mentioned earlier. The one her father didn't have when Jack was torturing him. Ever read Zombie Loan?

Reviews are like hugs. Sirensoundwave out.


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